Sam Shelton

Blackwater Studio's Director

sam@blackwaterstudio.co.uk

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Sam runs the day to day management of Blackwater Studio (BWS) but you’ll often see him in and around Wallingford, Benson or Cholsey, or even further afield, dashing from meetings to sites or at the weekends with the kids and dog at the park. 

 

From an architectural family, Sam is the son of a well established local architect who ran a practise within SODC for over 30 years. He is experienced in all aspect of planning and development, with over 10 years of experience and hundreds of planning applications successfully managed and approved. He is also currently extending his own property (much of which he has achieved himself working hands on) so he understands the intricacies and difficulties his clients experience.

 

Along with his strong interpersonal skills, Sam has an uncanny ability to be able to visualise the clients’ aspirations to make them into realities.  He has an understanding of construction technologies, exceptional design skills and is able to create designs which are functional, creative and sustainable. He is well respected in his professional field and has strong links with planning departments, engineers and building regulation professionals, all just to be able to assist his clients to achieve their goals from their initial ideas to the finished project.

 

Sam previously headed Future Architecture, a firm who specialised in residential development with a focus towards contemporary architecture. With a keen interest and increasing number of conservation projects, working on many of the fine local Listed Buildings, Sam formed Blackwater Studio to form a single practise to serve all needs.  

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Di Shelton

BWS's Corporation Secretary

info@blackwaterstudio.co.uk

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The office based secretary for Blackwater Studio, is Di Shelton.  She has been with the company since it was first conceived and has been working with Sam for the last 5 years when she decided to give up full time employment (supposedly to have some spare time but these things have a habit of never working out quite as planned).

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Di’s background is founded in Office Management and Administrational positions held in the past where she acquired her organisational skills.  She is a qualified Personal Assistant having worked for a number of company directors, mostly in the scientific and charity-based sectors and has also spent several years in the accounting field enabling her to expand her roles and acquire new skills.

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Di’s role within Blackwater Studio is mainly secretarial and also dealing with the accounting side of the business.  When you received our paperwork and documents, these may well have originated from Di.

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Fran Chacon

BWS's Senior Project Co-ordinator

fran@blackwaterstudio.co.uk

 

(Architect by University of LPGC (Spain) and Building Engineer by University of Seville, Spain).

 

Following different part-time jobs after finishing his degree, Fran realised how important English was for his job. No languages schools or courses are better than learning them in native countries, giving you the chance of not only learning the language, but also culture and people. 

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Just 7 months after arriving in the UK, he met Sam Shelton, joined the team and started this new adventure, allowing him to have a much closer contact with the English building experience, strategies and materials. 

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After having studied the British culture, architectural approach and lifestyle, Fran is now able to offer an interesting mix between the vernacular architectural landscape and international point of view, respecting the architectural project as part of the landscape. Fran's designs therefore reflect his passion for the job as well as your needs for contemporary architecture that everyone can enjoy everyday.